Horseshoe Bay > Earls Cove > Saltery Bay > Powell River > Comox > Nanaimo > Horseshoe Bay. 24 hours, 4 ferries, 245km and 11 hours 48 minutes of cycling, 2 burritos, 2 coffees, 2 Mars bars, 1 bag of gummies, 1 Coca-Cola, 8 litres of water and one body of water (Strait Of Georgia)…
Patrick Lucas is a community planner and founder of the Aboriginal Youth Mountain Bike Program. This is Patrick Lucas’s presentation at Sam Sullivan’s 27th Public Salon on 18 January 2017 at the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre in Vancouver, BC. It’s really worth watching. I had the pleasure of meeting Patrick in 2013 when we were both…
Wow, four years ago Dave, We Are Union Co. and I set out on a two-week backyard adventure from Whistler with the goal of looping the lesser known and snow-free winter riding areas of BC. We loaded a couple Chromag Stylus’ with Bob Trailers and off we went. We wanted to escape the winter…
I’m a nerd for the history and tales behind trails probably as much, if not more, than I am for riding them. So when Alison Taylor (the editor of Crank’d Magazine) asked me to write a story about the history of trail building in Whistler I jumped at the chance.
It’s Bike Park season, nearly. That means it’s time to roll out the reminders of how to keep it classy and rubber side down. In 2012, fourth year medical student, Zachery Ashwell published his study of the injuries suffered in the Whistler Bike Park. He analyzed 898 Whistler Health Care Centre case reports from between…
I’ve asked a lot of people a lot of questions in the course of my ‘career’ as a writer. I’ve always been fascinated by what makes people tick, what motivates them, what is the process of their critical thinking and what defining moments forged them into the people they are and the path that they…
The most essential thing to learn to do in mountain biking is…anyone? Well, I believe the answer is how to corner. Every trail has corners, it’s the only thing that every trail will have. Corners might be the only feature that singletrack in a Welsh trail center and an ancient packhorse track in the Upper…
[In another article about Dan Raymond I talked about Dan’s background in trailbuilding but here I want to uncover some of the truths and observations Dan has gathered through trailbuilding. Here’s five things to consider before building your own trail.] A few summers ago rumors of a new line secreted away high up on the…
[This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 issue of Mountain Life magazine.] “I feel that you can experience something in your head and get the same physical reaction, the adrenalin rush, as you do when you do it for real,” Dan Raymond chews this thought over some, takes a swig from his beer (craft…
“When I was a kid I would make my own skateboards in my dads’ shop. I had a very deliberate intent to make them a certain way,” Ian Ritz matter-of-factly reveals as he wanders about the Function Junction headquarters of Chromag in Whistler, the bike brand he founded out of necessity and inclination. Ian’s father…
A few years back, when the world was on the cusp of a (less than) revolutionary change in wheels, “Mad” Mike Gamble and I created a masterpiece of scientific mystery and quantitative mythology. I’m not sure we can top this…although there are ideas brewing.
This was the last thing I wrote for BIKE Magazine during my short spell working there. It happens to be my favorite thing I wrote while at BIKE. I wonder why that was? Maybe I knew what was coming and I was relaxed enough to write as I wanted. Or perhaps it’s because the Bike…
Each summer Chromag Bikes hold a Show ‘n’ Shine event where owners attempt to win the coveted Best In Show award. Well, not every owner goes for the win. While some people spend months putting together a fresh, beautiful bike or coming up with an equally impressive way of displaying their bike (think peepshow, full…
I’m currently writing a feature story for the local newsmagazine, The Pique, and was reminded of this I wrote for the 2012 Crankworx Joyride finals. Thunderstruck kid gets in the van The heat choked the air from lungs and drained sweat from pores, evaporating all energy and vitality from the town. Fleshy young girls and…
[This piece appeared in Dirt Magazine #146 and was republished on the Dirt/Mpora website. While it was produced many months ago it provides a counterpoint to Mike Levy’s opinion piece that appeared on PB just last week.] HEY YOU HATE THIS SMARTEN UP, DON’T DUMB DOWN Words by Seb Kemp Illustration by Jon Gregory I’m…
Behind my house is a small stand of cedar trees. They aren’t the tallest or the biggest, but they certainly stand out from the crowd of pipsqueak pecker-woods. I like to take a stroll and hang out with the cedars from time to time. It often strikes me that even though I might be able…
A year ago we kicked this project into Go Mode. We (that’s We Are Union) are dreaming about the next chapter of The Escape and if all goes to plan then we will be hitting the road on some new and humungous adventures in the near future. Watch this space. But for now, enjoy a…
A little while back Union Production Co. (one of the production companies 2Flat collaborates with) was asked to created two short videos to coincide with the release of two new Santa Cruz bikes. We were given very little brief other than they needed to be driven by the personality and work of some of their…
Crankworx has been and gone. As usual it was filled with hot days, long nights, missed connections, cursory contacts, lift line hellos, coffee shop commiserations and bar room congratulations. In among the blurriness the problem of creating creative, original, engaging content was forefront in my mind. Crankworx is the epicenter of the world mountain bike…
The following is an excerpt from ‘The Idiot’s Guide To Whistler’ that appeared in Dirt Magazine in 2010. Words by Seb Kemp. Whistler is proof that hard work, determination, and passion can bring anything to being. In 1960 Whistler didn’t exist, all there was was a few shacks and lakeside lodges on Alta lake, and…
One of the most interesting and rewarding projects that 2Flat has been a part of this year is our collaboration with several other creatives to form the Union and execute The Escape, our contribution of love letters (and photos and videos) to British Columbia. Our partners on this project were Dan Barham Photography and Tall…
The Escape – Teaser from Union Production Co. on Vimeo. Recently I did a wee cycle mission around BC, trying to escape the snow (or lack of). Dave Roth and I set out from Whistler on our mountain bikes, towing trailers with our gear, and circumnavigated the Salish Sea entirely by our own power (and…
January has gone by in a blur. Sometimes the best way to remind yourself of what you have achieved and where you are going is to look back at photos. Despite some people’s technophobia or snobbish attitude to them, I feel blessed to be able to carry a wonderful little camera phone in my pocket…
STAND- Power Teaser from b4apres media on Vimeo. I’m very fortunate to say that Nicolas Teichrob is a good friend. We have worked together several times and I hope we work together a lot more in the future. One of the things that makes Nic such a good person and talented individual is that he…
Dirt Magazine #128 has been out for a little while but it was only today that I saw a copy with my own eyes. In this issue I have a story very close to my heart: Whistler beyond the bike park. I’m going to post the whole story below with some of Reuben Krabbe’s excellent…
The following (huge) story appeared in Privateer magazine #10 (August/September ’12). I feel extremely fortunate to be able to work with Privateer because they truly aim to tell the story of mountain biking behind the “news” and “releases”. More so, when I handed them my ridiculously large story regarding the history of the North Shore…
Kamloops: The Man-Up Gene Driving in Kamloops feels dangerous. The roads are good, the drivers are courteous but I feel like I’m always on the verge of rolling off the road or hitting a lamppost. The reason for this is entirely of my own doing. Every moment behind the wheel I’m rubber necking at ghosts…
This summer I was tasked by Mike Rose of Dirt Magazine to interview Brandon Semenuk for a full feature. We didn’t want to just talk about the tricks and contest victories but rather the background to this rather quiet figure. Brandon’s upbringing was rather unique – living in Whistler, being an XC champion before…
The Deep Summer Photo Challenge is a high point of the Crankworx festival. This year I was part of Jonathon Hayward’s team that also included Dylan Sherrard and Paul Stevens. We didn’t win. We did have fun though. Dylan Sherrard just posted a lovely report of his time at the event on Pinkbike.com.
It is a long standing tradition that for each issue of Bike Magazine a framed copy of the cover is sent to the featured rider and photographer. Bike Magazine decided to hand deliver a framed 2012 Photo Annual cover to Sterling Lorence’s home in Vancouver, BC. Sterling Lorence has had more Bike Magazine covers than…
The summer issue of Coast Mountain Culture has a short piece I wrote about the Coastal Crew. Coast Mountain Culture Magazine is an international-calibre biannual publication dedicated to the exploration and celebration of mountain culture as it exists throughout the vast coastal mountain ranges of western North America. I am incredibly proud and honoured to…
As 1st May marks the start of biking season for 2FLAT we thought we would post a few quick and easy Instagram images taken of or around the North Shore of Vancouver over the past winter.
So September rocks because A) work slows down enough that I can ride for myself B) friends find themselves in similar situations so we can finally shred together C) the trail conditions hit their sexual prime D) new trails are ready to be ripped.
Day Four, the final day. Ever since the courses and format was announced it was Day Four that was on everyone’s lips. For one it was to be held not in Whistler but in Pemberton, the spiritual home of steep and deep biking, big climbs and descents that take man balls. Another thing, it was…
Day two was a short day, only about a quarter of an hour, but don’t discredit day two because of this short time. Today started at 5500 feet up in the mountains and descended over 3000 feet back to Whistler village going through the rooty, rocky, holey hell of the Bike Park. This year the…
Apologies for the lack of communication over the last week. Don’t worry I have excuses. Pitiful excuses that will make you more mad that I haven’t even tried to pick up the phone and call you to arrange another hot date, a quick text to let you know i’m thinking of you, or even a…
Press Release from the newsdesk of Concerned Freeriders Conservation Association. 31st March 2010. Conservationists are warning that the recent release of Mantlelope back into the North American race circuit could prove to be a short sighted move that may end up decimating native shrub and race tape.
So last friday evening im sat at Stoney Hills trails in Dunedin. Just had a rad few hours digging and riding, friends were all around, the sun was setting, the weather was warm, there was a view of the surf, and the first beers had just been opened when my phone rings. I take the…
So the pigeon post arrived and brought a copy of Spoke Magazine 34
Two days before shooting outta Whistler in the fall I made a visit to the Chromag headquarters to get the gorgeous Ranger stem and brand new soon to be released all-mountain Fubars (in chrome of course). The weather was so cold and wet that day and I had already been on a 4 hour wet…
An article I wrote for [r]evolution Magazine (awesome ozzy magazine) just appeared on shelves. This means there’s more photos of my package (it was hella cold that evening) being printed and distributed throughout the southern hemisphere. My apologies parents. Here’s a link to Tim Pierces TwatPic Page which contains a shoot of the article in…
So this is the first of a series of entries where I go behind the scenes of my own works. In these entries I will take you, the reader, into the places (both physically and mentally) where I was when I wrote the gibberish I have done for magazines like Dirt Magazine, Spoke Magazine, and…
Yep its the same video as I entered the other day, but since then Caleb at Spoke Magazine has seen it and posted it up on the brilliant Spoke Web. He even adds these very generous words to his post, “Dain Zafke AKA Golden Boy AKA the Dark Lord’s son AKA WTB marketing guy crashed…
The lesson from this flick is that if you are booking the tickets for your trip to Whistler and you are taking a guy with you who killed millions of people, then double check the dates…
In the previous post I referenced a blog post by another chap which contained an epic little youtube video that a certain DAIN ZAFFKE , the marketeer behind WTB, edited up from his whirlwind visit to Whistler in November whilst the Bike Mag Mega Test Fest was going on.
As I have ‘relocated’ the gorgeous orange TALLBOY from Santa Cruz Bicycles HQ, I thought it was only fair that I send Mike Ferrentino the occasional update of the atrocities I’m committing upon the Tallboy.
So last ride I squeezed in before I left for Mexico was a quick ride of the first part of Comfortably Numb and then descending out on Young Lust. Nothing special except for the snow. It had been snowing hard for several days but we were keen to look at the snow line. Colin Meagher…
So after the usual LoG press releases started circulating the web then i found myself getting asked more about what the bloody hell the LoG is and if i could bring the circus to their town. Which got my brain twitching with thought of gold boats, leopard skin toilet seats, and diamond encrusted…
Above are links to two mentions I have got on the Spoke Magazine website recently. Granted, I actually posted one myself, but come on it still counts doesn’t it?
2FLAT 